Groton girls celebrate International Women’s Day

To celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8 in a very unique way, 40 girls in seventh through 10th grade at Groton Jr./Sr. High School (GHS) participated in a virtual workshop called Girls with GRIT (growing Guts, building Resilience, accepting Imperfection, finding your Team).

The invitation to this free, school-based, webinar-style event was offered by Tompkins Cortland Community College in partnership with It’s A Girl’s Life (itsagirlslife.org). So, K through 12 District Administrator Billie Downs; Babs Carr, ECHS (Early College High School) coordinator and STEAM college and career prep teacher, and Kerin Schmid, grades 10 through 12 high school counselor, immediately joined forces to bring the offer to fruition.

Over 1,500 girls nationwide gathered virtually that Tuesday morning to explore the concepts of developing grit, building self-confidence and strengthening self-awareness. They concluded their very full morning armed with tools taught to them by four separate presenters from the program to empower them to handle challenges and setbacks. Each student received their own personal notebook, and they all wrote feverishly in them all morning long.

“This was an amazing opportunity for our students to be able to come together and see women from all walks of life talk about their experiences and empower them with tools that they can use to help build their self-esteem, self-confidence and grit,” Carr said. “It also gave students a chance to look at themselves and to see what things in life are holding them back from becoming the best versions of themselves that they can be and to set some goals for achieving it.”

Carr has been employed at GHS for 28 years and has spent that time well — teaching her students college and career prep skills, career exploration, skills for success, professionalism, diversity, overcoming adversity and more.

The mission of It’s a Girls Life focuses on three pillars: 1) educating girls about GRIT, 2) teaching girls how to show up as their real and authentic selves and 3) inspiring them to take action, be effective and impactful but also to motivate teen girls to feel confident in taking control of their world and inspire them to be creators of their own story.

The girls were riveted to the screen when the morning began as the first presenter challenged them to face the fear of not being good enough, to get comfortable with not being comfortable, to be brave enough to be vulnerable, to be motivated by their dreams and passions and to practice mindfulness and self-awareness, followed by practical, real-life ways to make those things happen for themselves.

Student Delaney Ayer said, “I think Girls with Grit is a good way for girls to set goals. It gives you a bunch of topics to focus on for your goals and talks about ways to gain confidence and get over your fears.”

In the “resilience” portion of the workshop, the presenter inspired the girls further by letting them know that failure is a part of life, but the key to success is what one does after a failure. Girls learned that guts are grown in the courage zone, not the comfort zone, and the zone they want to live by is their individual choice.

“I thought it was great to see the girls gain more confidence throughout participating in the program,” Schmid said. “It was an eclectic mix of girls grades seven through 10, so it was a great opportunity for girls to interact with various grade levels and girls in their own grade they might not see regularly.”

Schmid also said she felt that the turning point for the confidence building of the group was when seventh-grader Madelyn Pitts volunteered to share during the “resilience” portion about something she was working to build confidence in, which was public speaking.

“She shared this to the presenters in front of about 1,500 participants who had virtually joined this program nationwide,” Schmid said. “And after Maddie shared, more girls from our school volunteered to share during the other topics of the program. Overall, it seemed to be a very productive morning, and I think the girls gained a lot from it.”

Responses from some of the other girls about what they took away from the workshop were that they wanted to be more confident, mindset is the key to grit, resilience is key to accomplishing their goals and being courageous is powerful. Others responded by saying they can do anything they set their minds to and that if they change their mindset, they can overcome challenges. Others focused on not worrying about having to be perfect.

“I think this is a workshop worth bringing back and having the rest of our girls participate in,” Carr said. “One student even suggested that we offer a similar workshop for boys. Overall, the workshop was very informative, and all participants said to do it again next year for other students.”

Ninth-grade student Kirstyn Wright said, “I was in the Girls with GRIT workshop. I found what they said to be very inspirational and touching. I think a lot of females can learn from it.”

Groton on the Inside appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Submit story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com or text or call Linda at (607) 227-4922.

In brief:

Groton Senior Club

The Groton Senior Club will hold its monthly lunch and meeting at the Center Village Court housing complex March 23 beginning at 12:15 p.m. All are welcome, and the event is open to senior citizens from anywhere, not just Groton.

Membership in the club is a $12 annual fee, but first-time attendees are under no obligation to join. Everyone is asked to bring a dish to pass and your own place setting for the meal. Lunch will officially begin at 12:30 p.m., followed by entertainment and a short meeting. This month’s featured musician is Mike Competillo.

Red Cross babysitting course

The Red Cross babysitting course will be held March 26 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Groton Village Office, 143 E. Cortland St. Class maximum is 12 students, and there are still openings. The fee is $69 each and includes a participant manual, emergency reference guide and DVD.

This training class is taught by a certified American Red Cross instructor and is recommended for youth ages 11 to 15. Students should bring their own lunch. Due to the limited number of spaces in class, refunds will not be available once registered. Registration is first-come, first-served at tshq.bluesombrero.com/grotonrecreation.

Teens at the library

Afterschool for Teens happens every day, Monday through Friday, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Groton Public Library. Any youth in grades six through 12 can come and play. Late bus is available Tuesday through Thursday. Parental permission is required. Pick up a form at GPL or at Groton schools or email director@grotonpubliclibrary.org.

Sunday brunch at Casper’s

Casper’s Kitchen, 118 Main St., will feature its After-Church Special brunch buffet every third Sunday of the month beginning March 20 and will remain open until 3 p.m. that day. There will be special buffet offerings at a cost of $10 per person. Casper’s regular hours are 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday.